


Life Falls in Line

by CassidyChase36



Category: Captain America (Movies)
Genre: Kid Fic, M/M, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-22
Updated: 2017-07-08
Packaged: 2018-08-10 08:16:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,554
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7837222
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CassidyChase36/pseuds/CassidyChase36
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>While trying to save Chicago, Steve saves a mother and a little girl. They are all alone just as he was. He can't do nothing. So Bucky doesn't let him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Loving Can Hurt Sometimes

**Author's Note:**

> Baby Emma is my original character I am on a huge Stucky!daddies so I decided to make my own fic. First time writing Stucky but here goes nothing.

“Ma’am. Can you hear me? My name is Steve Rogers and I’m here to help you.” Steve yells over the noise. “Ma’am, can you hear me? What is your name?”

She is trapped under a car with a large head wound. “Molly. Molly Nash.” She looks up at him with tears in her eyes. “Did you find Emma? She’s my baby. I need her.”

Steve looks around to see the baby carriage sitting on the sidewalk untouched when her mother was hit by an oncoming car. “I see her. She’s okay.” He quickly waves a policeman and points to the carriage. “A police officer has her. We are going to get you out of here.”

“Save her. She needs to live.” The mother wails. “After the life we have had. Make sure she gets a good home.” 

“She will have a good home. With you.” Steve says, calling over more officers to help him. “Ma’am we are going to lift the car now. You both will be fine.” He gets no answer and looks down to see that she has gone unconscious. 

Bullets have been flying by Steve’s head as he works hard to get all the citizens out of the way. Hydra is on it’s last end and this is the last battle. After Wakanda, Steve isn’t going to let any civilians get hurt. They had evacuated Chicago before the fight began but there were a few more people who were just shy of getting out safely. Captain Rogers had been working with the remaining police force to get every last civilian out. 

“Hurry. We have to get them out of here.” Steve says, lifting the car as two police officers pull out the bleeding mother. The baby cries over the noise. “Take them into the nearest hospital and when they get there, tell the nurses to call me.” The two policemen nod and carry the mother and child towards outer limits of the city. 

Steve watches until they are safely on their way. He turns just as a group of Hydra soldiers go to follow them. He throws his shield at three of them. That was dumb. Steve thinks as he punches the agents nearest to him. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees a silver and black figure pick up his shield and slam it into more Hydra soldiers headed towards Steve. Thank God. Bucky.

Bucky eventually works his way through the mass of soldiers towards Steve until he can safely pass the shield back to Steve. “Here, buddy. You dropped this.”

“You’re hilarious, jerk,” Steve says, using his shield to knock more guns out of the enemies hands. 

“Thanks, punk,” Bucky replies, watching as the last soldier falls to the ground.

“All right guys. It’s over. We got them all,” Tony says into the comms. 

“Come on, Barnes. Time to get ourselves cleaned up.”

-x-

The team rendezvous at the local Shield outpost, just outside of the city. Doctors are there to assess injuries and help in any way possible.

“So Cap. What the hell was that move with Barnes?” Tony asks as he works to get his suit up and working. He swats away a nurse as she tries to assess the cut above his eyebrow. 

“Which move, Stark?” Bucky says, wincing while a doctor stitches up a cut along his cheek. 

“You know,” he says, turning to face the two men sitting side by side on a hospital bed. “The yo-yo move with the shield.”

“You mean me throwing my shield so he can pick it up and steal it from me,” Steve replies, gently nudging his injured arm into Bucky’s metal one.

“Hey, I gave it back, didn’t I?” Bucky says, pushing back into Steve. 

“Yeah but not without a few scratches on it.”

“Just have someone repaint it for you, punk. Hell, you could do it yourself with all the painting you do.”

“Painting?” Clint perks up from where he is helping Natasha fix her dislocated shoulder. “And this is the first we are hearing about this?”

“I told you a while ago, numbnuts,” Natasha says, kicking Clint in the shin. “Don’t act so surprised.” 

“Wait, how did you know?” Steve asks, putting his head in his hands.

“Wait, how did I not know? I have surveillance on all of you,” Tony says, signing paperwork given to him by a random Shield agent. 

“Thanks for that, by the way,” Bruce says, throwing an accusatory glare at Tony. 

Natasha doesn’t answer Steve’s question. Instead, she stares at Bucky while taking a sip of Clint’s juice. 

“Seriously, Buck?” Steve says, throwing his best friend a glare. Bucky throws up his hands innocently. 

“Captain Rogers?” A timid agent stands in the doorway with a file in her hand. “There’s a call for you from one of our triage centers. They said you told them to contact them about a mother and her child.” 

“Oh. Okay. Yeah, Tell them I’m coming.” He stands slowly and turns towards Bucky. “You might want to stay here. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

“Are you sure you don’t want me to come with?” Bucky asks.

“Nah, I got it. Rest up, okay jerk?” 

“Fine, punk. I’ll do as you ask. Cause you know I’m with you-”

“Till the end of the line, yeah I know bud,” Steve says, holding out his fist towards Bucky. Bucky taps his knuckles lightly against Steve’s and watches Steve walk out the door. He turns to see everyone looking at him.

Bucky rolls his eyes as the team starts to laugh.

-x-

“Captain Rogers? Right this way.” A nurse calls to him once he enters the emergency room. “We were told to call you about Molly Nash and her daughter, Emma.”

“Yes, how are they?” He says, quickly following the nurse back to their room. 

“The baby is fine. She has a few scratches but otherwise is as healthy as can be.”

“And the mother?” 

“She is stable for now but she is in a coma. We won’t know the extent of her brain damage until she wakes up. If she does.” She stops outside a room.

“Do they have any family?” Steve asks, peering through the window.

“No. It seems that they are on their own.” She looks down on the chart in front of them. “The last known family is her mother who died in a nursing home a month ago.”

Steve looks sadly into the room. He knows what it is like to be all alone. “What will happen to the baby?” 

The nurse frowns. “Unfortunately if Molly doesn’t wake up, Emma will be put into foster care.”

Steve looks back into the room. “Can I see them?”

“Yes sir. If anything changes, let me know.”

-x-


	2. But It's the Only Thing That I Know

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Points to whoever can figure out what song I am getting all my titles from!

Steve sits with them for a long time. He alternates between holding Molly’s hand and cradling Emma in his arms. The nurses allow him to feed Emma and show him how to burp her. Steve is thankful for the lesson. He hasn’t had much experience with kids. The nurses pick up on this and take turn showing Steve what to do. They teach him how to get her to stop crying, how to hold her and eventually how to change her diaper. 

“Your girlfriend will appreciate that you know how to do this when you have kids.” One of the nurses tell him as he changes her diaper perfectly. 

“Oh well… ah.. Um… no I don’t think so.” Steve stutters. He never thought of having a wife. After a life like his, getting married was the last thing on his mind. Besides, there’s only one person who he can see himself being around for the rest of his life. 

Steve is playing with Emma when his phone goes off. It startles Emma and she starts to cry. “Shhh. Em. Shhhh. It’s okay.” Steve answers his phone with a quick “Hello, Captain Steve Rogers” while trying to calm the baby down. 

“Hey Stevie- Is that a baby crying? Steve what are you doing with a baby?” Bucky says into the phone. Steve can only imagine his face. 

“Well I saved her and her mom on Main Street today and I wanted to check on them and… and…” Steve stammers. 

“Okay bud. Okay. Where are you? I’m coming. You sound like you could use some help.” Bucky says. Steve can hear the slide of his metal arm into his leather jacket.

“I’m at the local hospital, room… uhhhh.” Steve looks around quickly but doesn’t see the room number anywhere. “Just ask for me. All the nurses know me now.”

“Okay punk. I’ll be right there.” 

“Thanks jerk.”

-x- 

“I’m looking for Captain America.” Bucky smiles at the woman at the front desk. 

“Oh. You must be Steve’s…” The nurse looks him up and down. “That makes more sense.”

“What makes more sense?” Bucky says, his face turning in confusion. 

“Nothing. Right this way, sir.” She leads him down several hallways to a closed room. “Right in here, sir.”

“Bucky, please. Call me Bucky. If you’re on first name basis with Steve, you might as well be on first name basis with me.”

“Okay, Bucky. I’m Grace. He’s right in here.”

Bucky tips his hat at her. “Thank you, Grace.”

He steps inside to find Steve, asleep, sitting on a chair next to the hospital bed. Laying on his chest is the baby. Bucky stands there for a long while watching Steve and the baby sleep. He quickly takes out his phone and snaps a quick picture of the scene in front of him. He kneels next to Steve and places a hand on the baby’s back. “Stevie.” Bucky whispers, trying not to scare him. 

Steve opens his eyes to find Bucky staring at Emma. “Hey Buck. How long was I out?”

“Not long. I just got here. Who is this dame?”

“This is Emma. And that’s her mother Molly. They are all alone in the world.”

Bucky looks over his shoulder towards the women on the hospital bed. “Oh. No family?”

“No. It’s just the two of them. They said they don’t even know if Molly will wake up. Then this little beauty will really be alone.” Steve smiles sadly down at Emma’s sleeping face. 

 

Bucky pulls up a chair next to Steve’s and watches him hold Emma. It makes him sad when he remembers that after all that they have been through it’s highly unlikely either of them will ever have kids thanks to the super serum. They will never be able to have a family. 

“I’m sorry gentlemen.” The nurse says, stepping quickly into the room. “Visiting hours are over. You can come back tomorrow. I’m sure they wouldn’t mind it.” She walks over to take Emma from Steve. 

“Thank you. You’ll take care of them, right?” Steve asks, looking at Molly. “Please feel free to call me if anything happens. I’ll be back tomorrow as soon as I can.”

“We will be back tomorrow. Now let’s get out of their hair.” Bucky says, clapping Steve on the shoulder. 

Steve leans down to kiss Molly’s forehead. “I’ll be back.”

-x-

Steve is at the hospital the rest of the week. Everyone knows him by name and love him because he always brings sweets and flowers for the nurses. Bucky comes with him and is in and out most of the day. Emma is well cared for when they are there. Steve eventually teaches Bucky how to feed, burp and change Emma until they are both experts at it. 

They fall into a routine. They spend the whole day at the hospital taking care of Emma. Bucky will go out for food. He makes sure to take all of the nurses’ orders and brings back extra snacks. Both his and Steve’s bank accounts are filled thanks to Stark so they might as well spend it. They stay until the nurses kick them out and are back the next morning with flowers and food for the staff. 

Their routine continues until a call at 2 am. 

“Steve Rogers”

“Steve? It’s Martha. Can you come in?” She tries to be gentle but there’s no use. 

“What’s wrong? Is Emma..?”

“Emma’s fine. For now. But Molly..” 

“I’ll be right there. Give me 5 minutes.” He hangs up quickly, stumbling around his room trying to put on his pants and find his shoes at the same time. 

Bucky comes running into his room. “Steve? What’s wrong? I heard crashing. Are you okay?”

Just when he asks that, Steve realizes he’s crying. “Molly… She’s…” He’s still trying to tug on his pants. Bucky must think he looks ridiculous. 

Bucky walks over to Steve, steadies him and pulls him to his chest. “It’s okay, Stevie. You need to calm down. You don’t want to show up a mess and scare Emma, do you?”

Steve lets Bucky hold him until he’s only sniffling. “I’m okay. I’m okay.” Bucky takes Steve’s face in his hands and rubs away the last of the tears. “Will you drive me?”

“Of course, pal. Let me change really fast. Wouldn’t want the scare the nurses.” Bucky says, gesturing to his boxer shorts and old ratty shirt. It makes Steve laugh. “There’s the best sound in the world.”

“Thanks, jerk.”

-x-


	3. You Know It Can Hard Sometimes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Follow me on tumblr @stevefreakingrogers

When they finally get to the hospital, the nurses are waiting for them at the door. “Boys, this way.”

They walk swiftly to Molly’s room to see four or five doctors standing at the end of her bed. “Time of death 0254.” 

There is a stern woman standing by Emma’s carrier flipping through a file. Everyone looks at Steve and Bucky when they walk into the room. “Are you family?”

“No. I’m Captain Steve Rogers. I was the one that saved them.” Steve says in his Captain voice. Everyone’s flick to Bucky. “This is my partner, James Barnes.” Bucky nods respectfully. “We are here to find out what will happen to Emma.”

The woman by Emma picks up the carrier and walks towards them. “Hello gentleman. I’m Caroline and I’ve been put in charge of Emma’s case.”

“What happens now?” Bucky asks, watching as Steve crouches down to take a peek at Emma sleeping.

“It seems that she does not have any other family so she will be put into a foster home until we can find a family to adopt her.” Caroline says, frowning. 

“We will take her.” Bucky says, clapping a hand on Steve’s shoulder. 

Steve stands quickly. “Buck. We need to talk about this. You can’t just decide-”

“Steve, I’m not just deciding. I see the way you look at the kid. You would rather die than leave her for the system. We can do this. Look at the past week. We got this.”

“But-”

“No buts. We can do this. Come on Steve. It’s our one chance.” Bucky says, staring into Steve’s blue eyes. 

“Alright. I guess you’re right. Miss Caroline. Can we adopt her?” Steve asks, looking back to the grouchy woman. 

“No. You have to prove to me that she would be going into a safe home. I am literally looking at Captain America, a guy who was literally fighting an army a few days ago and the Winter Soldier, an ex-assassin. It is not going to happen boys.” She turns to walk away. 

“Ma’am, please. We can take care of her. I swear on my mama’s grave. This baby girl will be safe in our care.” Steve says, using his famous puppy dog eyes his mother used to complain about.

“I can’t help you. The court won’t think that you are fit to be parents.” Caroline says, gravely. 

“Excuse me,” a nurse, Marcy, says behind Caroline. “Captain Rogers and Sergeant Barnes have been here every day for the last week, taking care of Emma and making sure she is being cared for properly. Most of the nurses and I have been teaching them how to take care of her and all of us would vouch for them. They would make great fathers to this little girl.”

“Okay, fine. I will give you the benefit of the doubt.” Caroline says, flicking through the file. “But I will be coming to your home and doing random checks. Now look over this contract and sign both your names at the bottom.”

“Yes, ma’am. Thank you ma’am.” They both sign the papers and give her a great big hug.

“Alright boys. Now you have to decide. Are you going to be Steve and Bucky or Papa and Daddy?” She says crossing her arms.

They look at each other for a long moment. “Papa and Daddy.” They say together. 

“Alrighty then. Who’s gonna be Papa and who’s going to be Daddy?” 

-x-

It’s been two weeks since they have been home. Home is currently the whole 32nd floor of the Avengers tower. After all the fighting, most of the team had taken Tony up on his offer of living in the tower. It made it easier for weekly meetings, getting dispatched to an emergency and team bonding. While everyone had their own floors, most of them spent the most time on the 40th floor that had a game room, a large kitchen and living room, and a big tv room that became their daily hangout space. 

Bucky and Steve shared the 32nd floor. Tony especially made it for them when he was designing everyone’s floors. It was styled for the 1940s with a full living room, kitchen, two bathrooms and two large bedrooms. It was perfect until they had another person living in their apartment. They didn’t have an extra bedroom for Emma so she had been sleeping in a crib in Steve’s room.

“Steve. You shouldn’t have the crib only in your room. Why don’t we put her in the living room? Then we both will have access to her so you aren’t the only one getting up in the middle of the night.” Bucky says one day while making Emma her bottle. 

“Because Buck,” Steve says, grabbing a new diaper out of the bag. “You need your sleep. It’s not a problem. I got it. Don’t I, baby?” Steve coos at Emma.

“Daddy thinks that he can just do everything. He doesn’t want any help from Papa.” Bucky mocks. “He just wants to keep you all to himself, huh little bear?” He sits the warm bottle on the counter and leans over to kiss her blonde curls.

“No, Papa,” Steve teases. “I just think you can use some rest. Besides, I know her routine by now. We have a system.”

“Oh. So now I would be messing up the system huh punk?” 

“No Buck, it’s just… I don’t want to worry you.” Steve says looking down at Emma to see her chewing on her own foot. 

“Well I want to be worried. She’s mine to, ya know. Let me take her tonight. Please.” Bucky gives Steve the puppy dog eyes.

“Fine. But just sleep in my room tonight. I don’t want the hassle of moving her whole crib. Plus she sleeps in later if the sun doesn’t wake her in the morning.” Steve says, sighing. 

“Yes! Finally. Come on, little bear. Let’s go see what тетя Natalia is up to on this fine morning.” Bucky picks up Emma and with a smile at Steve over his shoulder, he and Emma are on their way upstairs to see the team.

Steve watches them and when he can’t see them anymore, he sits and sighs. Over the last few weeks, they have learned everything they can about babies and what to do for baby Emma. She brings such joy to Bucky’s face, Steve can’t even bear to fight with him about taking her to see the other Avengers. She’s good to have for both of them. Taking care of her is something they both can focus on instead of their own messed up lives. It has been hard for Steve since he made up with Tony and Bucky came back for good. Hell, it's been hard for both of them. The team has been trying to keep them both busy and out of their rooms but that was hard on most days. Now, with Emma, they are finally out of their four year funk. 

-x- 

“So, how is the domestic life working for you?” Natasha asks over her bowl of cereal. 

“Pretty great. How’s having only one cover working for you?” Bucky retorts as he flips through the TV channels with Emma on his lap. She is preoccupied with his dog tags that lay against his chest.

“Haha. Very funny.” She shifts closer to him, watching Emma play. She doesn’t like to hold Emma much, or touch her at all for that matter but she does like sit and watch Emma play. “How’s your Steve doing with another child in the house?”

“First of all, he loves Emma and loves taking care of her. Second, I am not a child. I can take care of myself. And third, what do you mean ‘your’ Steve? He’s my best friend. Not my lover.”

“Oh really?” Natasha leans back and props her feet up on the couch between them. “Is that why you’re wearing his dog tags?”

Bucky quickly looks down at his chest where Emma is pulling Steve’s dog tags into her mouth. “Oh. I must have grabbed his off the bathroom counter instead of mine. No big deal.”

“Uh huh. No big deal. Okay, sure let’s go with that.” Natasha grins as she turns back to the television. “When are you guys coming back to work?”

“Work?” Bucky asks, pulling the dog tags out of Emma’s mouth again. “I thought Hydra was gone.”

“Yeah, Hydra is gone but we keep getting calls from different countries about monsters popping up all over the place.” She gets up to put her empty bowl in the sink.

“Oh. We had no idea. Has anyone told Steve about this?” Bucky asks, taking Emma over to the large island in the kitchen. He sits her in front of him, her attention still on his dog tags. 

“We didn’t tell you or Steve because of the baby. We wanted you guys to get settled. It’s been hard on you guys.”

“Yeah. It has been especially with Ms. Caroline popping in on random times.”

“Caroline? I’ve seen her before. She came once when you and Steve were setting Emma down for her nap. Everyone happened to be here that day. She asked about how you guys were doing, how were we doing with the new baby, how your wedding was, how you guys are getting along, the usual stuff.”

“Wait, wedding? She thinks Steve and I are married?” Bucky’s face shows his internal shock. Emma uses her father’s distraction to put the dog tags back in her mouth.

“Absolutely sugar buns. She mentioned she heard it from one of the nurses. We all just played along. We thought you knew. Isn’t that how you convinced her to let you keep Emma?”

“What? No. I don’t know what gave her or any of the nurses that impression.” 

“Maybe all the touching? Or the stares? Let’s see. What’s your pet names for each other?”

“Alright. Alright. You can stop. It’s not like that at all.” Bucky says, picking up Emma. “It will never be like that.” He walks towards the elevators, grabbing a fallen toy off the ground.

“Yeah, sure. You guys keep thinking that you are only ‘partners’ as you call yourselves.” Natasha says, to his retreating back. 

“He is my partner. My partner in crime.”

-x-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> тетя means Aunt


	4. The Only Thing that Makes Us Feel Alive

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back with a vengeance to finish this fic. It's happening. This summer I'm finishing it.

“Steve?”

Bucky hears rattling coming from the kitchen before a “In here, Buck”. He finds Steve standing at the counter, flour dusting him from head to toe. By the looks of the kitchen, Bucky guesses that Steve is trying unsuccessfully to make cookies. 

“What are you trying to do, pal?” Bucky asks putting Emma in her highchair and walking over to Steve. He puffs out a laugh when Steve pouts at the dough in front of him. 

“I was trying to make cookies for you guys and it just won’t work.” Steve looks wistfully at the failed dough sitting in the mixing bowl in front of him. 

Bucky peers into the large silver bowl. “Don’t worry your pretty little head, Stevie. I can whip up a new batch in less than 10 minutes and then you can put them onto the tray. Okay?”

“Fine. Yeah, I remember the last time I let you put them on the tray, they came out the size of Emma’s head.” Steve’s laugh is something Bucky will never forget.

“Move over, punk. Let Sargent Cookie fix everything you messed up.” Bucky hits his hip against Steve’s but it does nothing to move him from his spot against the counter. Bucky shrugs and starts to gather and mix the ingredients around Steve. They end up squished against each other, Bucky standing behind Steve, his arms moving on either side of Steve as if he wasn’t even there. It’s comfortable to be close like this after so many years without seeing the other. 

Their conversation is casual. They talk about how they are going to move around Emma’s crib and Bucky staying in Steve’s room for the night. Steve asks about Natasha and how she is adjusting. Bucky talks about how she is warming up to Emma slowly but surely. 

“Oh. These are yours by the way,” Bucky says, swinging the dog tags to hit Steve in the back. “I accidentally grabbed yours instead of mine this morning. Do you want to switch back?” 

“Nah,” Steve says, looking at the dog tags on his chest, confirming they are Bucky’s. “I just used to wearing them. Does it really matter anyway? We’re basically interchangeable,” Steve jokes.

“Well, we know that isn’t true. I’m prettier.” Bucky says winking at Emma.

“What else did you and Natasha talk about this morning?” Steve asks, turning a bit in Bucky’s arms. 

Bucky focuses on his stirring, nervous. He didn’t want to bring up their presumed relationship but now he’s stuck. “Well… Besides the tag thing, she let me know some very interesting information about Miss Caroline. Apparently she went to talk to everyone before she came to us the last time she was here.” 

“Oh. What did she say? What did they do? Oh no.” Steve turns fully around and looks at Bucky through his fingers plastered to his face. 

“They didn’t do anything bad per say. They just answered the questions she asked about us.” Bucky wraps his hands around Steve’s wrists and pulls his hands away from his face. He holds Steve’s hands to his chest and looks away.

“What did she ask, Buck?” Steve says worry in his tone. He places his hands over Bucky’s heart. He can feel it pounding under his fingertips. 

“She asked if… if we were married. Some of the nurses at the hospital were under the impression that we were and they told Miss Caroline. When she asked everyone here, they assumed we lied and said that so that she would give us Emma.” Bucky looked up at Steve worried what he was thinking.

“Oh.” Steve says, putting down his hands and walking away from Bucky. 

This disappointed Bucky. Steve was uncomfortable. God he was such an idiot. Why did he have to tell Steve this? Stupid stupid stupid.

“We can always tell her the truth and set everything straight. It’s not like we are…” Bucky trails off, placing his hands on the counter and closes his eyes, scared of Steve’s thoughts. 

“No, no, no. It’s fine. We wouldn’t want to give Caroline a reason to take away Emma. We should just get our story straight with the team.” Steve says, crossing the kitchen to pick up Emma, who immediately latches onto Bucky’s dog tags on Steve’s chest. 

“I’ll uh.. Talk to Nat. Maybe she can help us with our cover.” Bucky says, finishing stirring the batter. “Are you going to come regulate these cookies or am I making pancakes out of these suckers?” 

“Don’t even try it.” Steve says, walking back to the counter and dipping a finger into the batter. He hums around the digit. Bucky stares distracted by Steve’s mouth. He has thought a lot about that mouth over the years, how it hasn’t changed even though how much his body has. What he wouldn’t give to feel those lips on his. 

He shakes himself out of his stupor and takes Emma from Steve. “Hello, baby doll. You wanna try some of Daddy’s cookies?” He dips his flesh finger into the batter and brings it to her mouth. 

Steve grabs Bucky’s wrist. “What do you think you’re doing? She can’t eat that. It has raw eggs in it. Plus I don’t know how clean your fingers are right now.” 

“Excuse you. We ate full raw eggs when we were young. It’s good for you. Put some meat on her bones.” Bucky says, shaking off Steve’s hand from his wrist. “And my hands are clean. I am not some heathen.”

Steve immediately pulls it away from Emma’s face. “Stop that. She could get sick. Kids these days don’t have the immune systems that we had back in the day.”

“You mean like I had back in the day, mister skin-and-bones.” Bucky laughs and tries to pull his hand back to Emma again. Steve quickly pulls it to him and sticks the protruding finger in his mouth. He moans at the sweet taste and scrapes his teeth against the pad of Bucky’s finger as he pulls away. . 

Bucky has stopped breathing. He stands there stunned with Emma in his arms as Steve begins to scoop the dough onto the pan. “Hey Buck, is the oven preheated?”

Bucky’s face is still stunned as he moves over to check on the oven. Emma’s crying shakes him out of his stupor. “It’s time for someone’s nap. I’m going to go put her down. Let me know when the cookies are done.” He says to Steve as he walks down the hall towards Steve’s room. 

Steve’s room is cluttered to say the least. Between his art and the baby, his room barely looks like the neat bedroom that Tony had made for him. He’s taken up drawing to its fullest. Tony bought him a large sketching desk and the best pencils and paper money could buy. Steve spends all his extra time sketching in his room. His walls are littered with drawings of the team, in battle and in the tower and drawings of Emma. There are even a few of his mother and the Howling Commandos. 

The pictures of Emma have covered most of the beautiful portrait of Steve and Bucky that Steve had painted on the wall. It took up the whole wall and it looked like a perfect replica of the shots of them together shown on the video at the Smithsonian. They are painted over the gorgeous skyline of Brooklyn. Steve had painted it during the nights that Bucky went out for a walk and disappeared for 6 days. 

Bucky had returned, quiet but happier than he was before he left. Steve had grabbed him by the metal wrist and pulled him into his room to show Bucky the portrait. He had explained to Bucky how much he had missed him all those years and how he was so worried when Bucky had disappeared. He had told Bucky that no matter what he was feeling, Steve is always there to hear any thoughts and give any kind of comfort. 

For a week after Bucky would walk into Steve’s room while Steve would be drawing and just stare at the portrait. After a year, Bucky was his happy go-lucky self. Steve worked weeks painting a large canvas to be put into Bucky’s room. Its twin now hangs in Bucky’s room where Bucky can see it and be reminded that he is still the same Bucky, no matter what year it was. 

He crosses Steve’s room to the white crib and just as he tries to lay her down on her newly knitted shield blanket, she grabs a hold on his hair and yanks. 

“Okay, pretty lady.” Bucky walks over to Steve’s bed and moves the pillows to create a mini cradle for Emma to lay down in. He settles her down and flops on the bed next to her. “Sleep, little one. Papa’s here.” He rubs his fingers down her cheek. 

Emma latches onto his finger and promptly closes her eyes. Bucky lays there for a minute, listening to her little lungs take small breaths of life into his little girl. He was sure if she wasn’t around, he wouldn’t be the happy man he was today. 

He is so happy with his little family of him, Steve and Emma. They have their own home, they don’t have to worry about money or Steve getting sick. No wars to fight in. No one to stop them from being together. He has seen male and female couples walking down the street. He wants to reach out and grab Steve’s hand. 

He always wants to touch Steve all the time. To sleep in the same bed. To kiss him. 

Maybe one day. Maybe.


End file.
